Zombie Proof!

Cold Steel tests some products to see how well they kill zombies. They use pig and cow skulls so if you're a member of PETA, I advise you not to watch.

Sword Ban

The UK's handgun ban has been such a resounding success (a massive increase in criminal use of handguns) that the government is considering using the same tactic against samurai swords.

The Home Office has confirmed plans to outlaw the weapons in England and Wales after putting forward the idea earlier this year.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said there was a clear danger to the public posed by easily-available swords.

Now, you'd expect there to have been a massive number of deaths for such a draconian measure but you'd be completely wrong.

The Home Office estimates there have been some 80 attacks in recent years involving Samurai-style blades, leading to at least five deaths.

The Association of Chief Police Officers has backed the Home office move saying that while the weapon is relatively uncommon, there is justification for a ban.

And the ban aims to stop short of banning all samurai swords, focusing on on cheap, poorly made, imitation weapons- you know the ones usually made with blunt blades for decorative purposes only. Not only will the wealthy continue to be allowed to buy the real thing- blades much more lethal- but so too will martial arts students. So while really cheap blades are banned, martial artists will still be permitted to buy "mid-range" weapons. From what I know of the market I'm guessing that blades of around a £100 and up will escape (some of them seem to be directed specifically at martial artists)- although the government seems to be particularly hazy on the details. They also don't seem to be aware that samurai swords are only a portion of those being currently sold- will the ban also affect broad swords, rapiers, or the humble gladius? There also seems to be no provision for movie replicas- will fans be able to continue to buy Blade's sword for example? Or imitation weapons from Kill Bill or The Matrix?

There's no mention of what the government will do about criminals using samurai swords already purchased before the ban, or axes, or kitchen knives, or going out and sharpening a bit of metal themselves. Have they heard of shivs one wonders?

They also tried to ban "realistic imitation firearms" recently (replica weapons, cigarette lighter weapons and airsoft weapons predominantly)- a sure step to combat a rising tide of real gun crime. The guns are still available to sell- only now some of them are painted yellow or, for airsoft, you can join a local skirmishers group and buy the same thing anyway. It doesn't appear to have occurred to law-makers that there's such a thing as black paint.

Anyway, I'm off to go buy a sword now. Just before I go, another point to make- it's already illegal to have a sword in public- a measure which evidently has done nothing to reduce crime; so the government is going to make it illegal twice.

Carrying a samurai sword in a public place already carries a maximum jail sentence of four years.

For a list of weapons already banned- considered "offensive weapons"- see here. Interesting to note that the telescoping baton, currently issued to the police for day-to-day carry, is prohibited to the mere citizen.

Zombie Cleaver

Two of my favourite subjects- zombies and knives- come together in a glorious work of art by Todd Begg- the Zombie Cleaver. Made from A2 steel, the blade is six and a half inches long and four and a half inches high. There are more images over at the excellent EDC Knives website (temporarily down).

Rambo

Here's the poster for the new Rambo flick. Apparently the name's being changed from just John Rambo to Rambo IV: To Hell and Back. Personally I prefer the former.

The first images of the much anticipated (by me) new knife for the film are also up over at Gil Hibben's website. I wasn't too impressed by the Hibben Rambo III knife- not compared to the Lile knives of the first and second film- but this new, primitive knife is growing on me. When I first saw it I was distinctly underwhelmed but I'm liking it more and more. It's big and crude, fashioned by Rambo himself in the movie and i think Hibben, better known for outlandishly elaborate designs, has nailed it. He's making a limited run of blades in D2 steel- for the princely sum of $1250- which I'm sure will be snapped up by collectors. The blade is 12" long and a 1/4" thick. No doubt there will be more affordable display items available soon (in low quality 420 steel).

Will it occur to anyone that a mid-range knife made from good steel but priced more reasonably might be a good seller? I know I'd lay down maybe one or two hundred bucks for a good Rambo replica like that- Ontario make an 1o" machete with quarter inch thick 1095 blade (SP8) that you can buy for about $60 or less so obviously it's do-able. Chances are though that we'll never see such a sensible item. The powers that be obviously think that consumers either want cheap and nasty knock-offs or outrageously priced custom numbers- and knife collectors unwilling to spend so much on a single item will go and buy themselves five or six great quality knives by other knife-makers and give them their twelve hundred dollars instead.

Cold Steel Bushman

I've written before about my Cold Steel Mini-Bushman knife but I've been using it a tad more lately and it's fast becoming my favourite. It's an unusual design, being one piece of metal with a 'rolled' hollow handle. The problem with the handle is in trying to find a reliable way to carry "survival" items in it- you see, it's open at both ends. How hard would it be for CS to provide a little screw on cap for it? At the moment I've got mine stuffed with cotton wool balls- handy tinder and they are jammed in tight enough that they show no sign of wanting to fall out. It would be nice to be able to keep a little flint in there too though. BCB's Ranger is about the right size. If you have any suggestions about how to seal up the handle easily do let me know.

Anyway, the Mini-Bushman is a great knife- fits the hand nicely, the blade's a great shape and, wow, but it's easy to sharpen. I'm very much a beginner at hand sharpening knifes but I bought myself some diamond stones recently and the Bushman's edge just popped out. I think it's sharper now than when I bought it and with minimal effort too. In fact, my Cold Steel Two-Handed machete and Rifleman's tomahawk also came up very nicely too now that I think about it.

The little Bushman's impressing me so much that I'm more and more tempted to pick up the 7" big brother model.

Rambo Replica

Okay, okay, it's a cheap knife but it's a heck of a lot more cost effective than the United Cutlery Rambo-replicas considering that it uses the same quality steel. Anyway, it's obviously a display piece and not a field knife- if I want one of those I'll make a bee-line for one of the Martin hollow handle knives.

While the sheath is pretty nasty looking the blade itself is actually quite pleasing. The "sawback" is cosmetic only, the edge is barely there, I dread to think what exactly is in the "survival kit" in the cord-wrapped handle but this is a knife that's all about looks- and it does look the part. Sure it would fall to pieces if I ever had to use it as a survival knife but it won't be venturing too far from my desk, let alone out into the woods.

Bark River Aurora

I've been learning a little more about knives lately and have added a few pieces to my meagre and amateurish collection. I have a few more professional items on my list of "must haves" which I'm hoping to purchase shortly. One of these is the Bark River Aurora.

It's billed as a bushcraft knife, a fairly straight-forward looking design but one that could manage most of the activities required outdoors, whether camping or a "lost in the wilderness" situation. Unlike the Tom Brown Tracker or the more famous Rambo knives, the Aurora has very simple but rather elegant lines. It's interesting to note the various designs around for a survival or bushcraft knife: Ray Mears has one, Lofty Wiseman (author of The SAS Survival Manual), the aforementioned Tom Brown, the Jimmy Lile-designed Rambo knife (perfected in the one-piece Chris Reeve line), even Bear Grylls has a knife out now.

Anyway, here's an example of the Aurora fitted out with the black elm grips. A thing of beauty.

John Rambo

As you all are probably aware there's a fourth Rambo movie out. I'm much more interested in this than in Stallone's Rocky film- I've always liked the Rambo movies and the David Morrell books. Be interesting to see the first one adapted straight to film. Perhaps some day we'll get to see that with the real Starship Troopers? Anyway, I've been nosing around a little the past few hours trying to find out a bit about the Rambo film- I'm particularly interested in the knife he'll be using. Although the hollow handle survival knife didn't play a huge part in the first film, it was more of a "character" in the second. I'm not a fan at all of the Gil Hibben design for the third film- give me one of the Lile originals any day. BTW, if you want to see some high res pictures of the various knives have a look here.

I've heard that Rambo will be packing the same Rambo III blade in this film but I'm not entirely sure if that's correct. In the image below that looks like a completely different design- and a similar slightly curved blade like that can be glimpsed briefly in the trailer. If I had been in charge of picking a blade, he'd be carrying one of Chris Reeves' blades- maybe a 9" Jeroboam with a sawback or a Shadow I. These designs take the hollow handle concept as close to perfection as I can imagine- the knives are crafted from a single piece of A2 tool steel so that there is no blade/handle join or weak spot.

Here's hoping that the movie turns out to be a worthy addition to the series.

Atwood Knives

Found out about Atwood Knives via an old post on View From The Porch - and am I impressed. Tam might have a folding titanium spork (yeah, I want one too) but Atwood makes some tremendously cool items- small knives, mini-pry bars and tiny bug out blades. Really, if you're a guy (or possess the gadget gene) you'll want to check out this site- and his blog too. I've just spent a pleasant time reading through the archives- there are some amazing pictures of some truly beautiful (and very cool) tools. Now, what do I buy first?

These are micro bug out blades. Atwood also does amazing things with damascus- go check out the site, you won't be disappointed.

Double Edged Gift

One of the Only Ones has received a taste of what it's like to be a regular citizen in modern day Britain after his retirement.

As a keen hiker, Brian Seaton was delighted to receive a Swiss Army Knife as a retirement gift from his colleagues in the force.

But the former chief inspector ended up back in the arms of the law after he tried to take it on a walking holiday in Spain.

His one-time comrades in the Leicestershire force questioned him and he was taken to court charged with possessing a knife in public without good reason.

Mr Seaton, 63, was dragged through the courts in a case that lasted nine months at a cost to the taxpayer of up to £10,000.

It turns out that the knife with three inch blade was in a wash-bag. When check-in staff told him his baggage was too heavy he transferred the bag to his carry on luggage- and the knife was detected by an X-ray machine. Seaton handed the knife over to the "authorities" and carried on his way. When he returned from holiday however, his non-Only One troubles were just beginning. He went to the police station to reclaim the SAK.

He was told officers wanted to interview him, and he agreed to be questioned but refused a formal caution.

A file was passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service, which decided there was enough evidence to prosecute Mr Seaton. The father of two said: 'When I found out what was happening I couldn't believe it.'

He was finally cleared on Wednesday after District Judge David Meredith heard he needed the knife to open tins and cut food while hiking in the mountains.

The judge said: 'It was a good reason. That good reason is not invalidated because you suddenly enter a certain part of the airport.'

I wonder how many non ex-police officers would have been similarly cleared by a judge? I mean, hikers can also carry tin openers and knife/fork/spoon sets- items more suited to the tasks in question. Perhaps his former Only One status did come into play here?

As a commenter at the Daily Mail notes, "As a former policeman, Brian should be aware that laws introduced to combat criminals are only used against the easily targeted law abiding folk who give truthful answers and aren't eligible for legally-aided lawyers."

Modern Britain- where you need a "good reason" to carry a small tool noted throughout the world for its general purpose utility.

First the guns, now the kitchen knives

This will serve as a potent reminder to all my American readers- the gun grabbers don't just want your guns, they won't stop there- here in the UK they've managed to ban handguns and semi-automatic rifles, now they're after kitchen knives.

It seems that long, pointed kitchen knives are used in stabbings and according to some chefs questioned about their use, none of them are "essential". At the moment the government does not plan to pursue this ban, it's merely being called for by a group of doctors, but the Association of Chief Police Officers is also in favour of the ban. There is a possibility that this will head towards Parliament but I personally can't see it- but only because of the massive disruption this would cause to shops all over the country that sell such items, plus the companies that manufacture them.

Having said that, this is the UK- and as we become more and more "European-ised", anything is possible.

I wonder what these doctors would have to say about my two-handed machete?

Hat tip to Head's Bunker.

Special Forces Shovel

In my Edged Weapons post a week or so back I mentioned that one of the items I keep around the house is a basic entrenching tool with a single ‘kind-of’ sharp edge on it. Well, if that’s the sort of thing you’re into then check out Cold Steel- a great company- because they actually make a Special Forces Shovel that comes with axe-level sharpened edges which can then be brought up to a razor’s edge if required!

As with all their products it’s incredibly reasonably priced and, if the items of theirs which I own are anything to go by, damned rugged. I may have to upgrade soon.

Spetsnaz troops used the shovel (according to a book by Viktor Suvorov I read many a year ago) as a multi-purpose item. It was a measuring tool, it could cut bread, it could be hurled at an enemy (Spetsnaz apparently practiced this by running along a beam and jumping off as they threw their shovels at a target) and it was a pretty mean CQB item to boot. I’d rather face a guy armed with a bayonet that a sharp shovel. Oh, and you can dig holes with it too!

Keychain Knife

I’m looking to buy myself a very small folding knife which I can attach to my keychain. There have been quite a few times lately when I’ve found myself in need of a small blade and haven’t had one- I don’t carry my Leatherman around very much. I wasn’t quite sure what to go for- I was considering a CRKT KISS but then I discovered this nifty looking item; the Swiss-Tech Utili-Key. This looks like it might do the job nicely; very compact, a part serrated blade, screwdrivers and a bottle opener and most of all, unobtrusive- it doesn’t even look like a knife. It’s also a bargain price, which helps a great deal. The screwdrivers will also be handy- I occasionally have to crack open PC cases when I least expect it, so it’ll be good to be prepared. Finally, being a guy I love gadgets, and this is a cool little gadget.

I’ll have a further look around, see if I can find any suitable alternatives- any suggestions would be very welcome.

Edged Weapons

Because I live in the freedom hating UK I am unable to own a firearm for home defence- in fact, if I even used a feather I’d probably be charged with upsetting an intruder’s feelings and sent to prison. Even at that though, I’m not entirely unarmed as there are a number of bladed weapons scattered throughout my house. While I’d be loathe to get involved in a knife fight, I’ve got my Other Half and two little girls to think of. Anyway, here’s what I’ve got:

Cold Steel Rifleman’s hawk – I’d been planning on buying a Vietnam hawk, or even the lighter Trail hawk, but I got a really good price on this- too good to pass. It’s a fairly hefty chunk of metal with an axe head and a hammer face. With virtually no effort the axe blade has been sharpened to an almost razor edge, but the sheer weight of the head will ensure damage to whatever is being struck. I keep this by the bed and though it has also seen use in the garden chopping at tree branches, it’s my first line of defence should anyone try coming up the stairs. The lack of manoeuvrability caused by the weight shouldn’t be a problem in that position. If you’re thinking of getting a fighting hawk, I’d recommend either the very pricey American Tomahawk Company’s Next Gen Ranger, or the very affordable Cold Steel’s Vietnam hawk- if it’s going to be used in combat, the hawk needs to be light so that you can change the direction of a swing quickly.

Cold Steel Two Handed Machete – This is a dirt cheap, hugely massive blade which weighs next to nothing and costs pennies. I used is briefly during the summer to chop down some overgrown tree branches and, boy, can this thing cut! If you don’t want something so huge Cold Steel have a great range of the most affordable machetes (really, for the product their prices are superb). Part of the sales blurb for the Two Handed is that it can easily cut off arms and legs- I can well believe it. As a weapon this would be pretty formidable. And pretty scary to face. Cool. Speaking of machetes, I’ve just noticed their new Latin machetes. Mmm, have to look into acquiring one of them.

Cold Steel (can you see a trend developing?) Mini-Bushman- This is a really neat concept, an extensive of the Rambo inspired craze for hollow handled knives. I’m not a fan of those types of blade, but the Bushman is a different breed altogether. Made of a single piece of metal with a “rolled” hollow grip, it’s the sort of knife that sits really well in the hand. The handle is open-ended so that it can be made into a spear very easily and the hollow space can also be stuffed with some tiny survival kit items. This is a great survival weapon and the blade can be brought up to a razor’s edge in no time. It also feels a lot sturdier than the usual Rambo knives. Top notch!

Leatherman Wave– Though it’s not a weapon, the knife blade on this most useful tool is wickedly sharp and is easy to maintain. I bought myself this as a treat a year or so ago and it’s proved its utility on many occasions. I’m not the sort of guy to keep a toolbox around and this thing is invaluable around the house. This- or something like it, since the company came out in favour of John Kerry (SOG make some pretty good multi-tools, or Gerber)- is an essential bit of kit, unless you have frequent access to a cumbersome box of tools.

Finally, just inside my front door, should someone be foolish enough to attempt to force their way in while I’m there, is an entrenching tool. It’s a fairly basic wooden handle, folding type, with a choice of either a shovel or pick head. A crack to the head with it should deter most people, and if that doesn’t work, one edge has been sharpened. This is not good quality steel so it’s not a razor edge or anything, but it’s keen enough. Spetsnaz, eat yer heart out.